Pharmacy Technician Career: Ways To Start A Career As A Pharmacy Technician

In order to become a pharmacy technician, individuals must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Other requirements may depend on the state. For instance, some states require their applicants in this field to complete a formal training program, while others require them to pass a certification examination.

To find out the regulations of this profession, a candidate must consult his/her state’s Board of Pharmacy for specific regulations. Typically, these are the requirements for this occupation:

Even though some states do not require applicants to pass a certification examination, becoming certified allows individuals to find a job a lot easier. In fact, some employers prefer to hire individuals who are certified.

There are two organizations that offer certification in this profession. These are the following:

There are important skills and qualities a person must possess to succeed in this field.

Communication skills.

Be it writing or oral, the professionals should know how to interact with clients or customers. Apart from being helpful and polite, they should also learn how to communicate in a way that they can be easily understood by the people they are talking to.

Organizational skills.

They are essential for individuals who wish to take a part in this career. Keep in mind that this profession involves a wide variety of responsibilities. With good organizational skills, they can easily handle the work assigned to them while providing their customers utmost care.

Detail-oriented.

One mistake in filling prescriptions can result in serious health problems. To avoid this, pharmacy techs should know how to follow instructions so complications can be prevented.

Work Environment

The majority of them work in pharmacies, such as in drug stores, in hospitals and in grocery section. However, they may also find work in pharmaceutical companies. Work schedules may depend on the company they are employed. If the pharmacy or drug store opens 24 hours 7 days a week, then they may have to deal with night shifts or working during weekends. Most professionals in this field are working full-time. But there are some who are committed for a part-time job in a pharmacy.

Salary

The salary of pharmacy technicians is competitive. The lowest salary in this profession was reported to be less than $19,000 while the highest salary was recorded to be more than $40,000 a year. In May 2010, hospitals are the top-paying industries for this profession. They are followed by grocery stores, pharmacies, and department stores.

Duties and responsibilities

Their duties and responsibilities are aplenty. For instance, they are tasked to count tablets, label prescriptions, accept payment, mix medications, and perform routine tasks, among others. Regardless of what their duties are, they work under the strict supervision of a licensed pharmacist. They can arrange a meeting between a customer and a pharmacist in case the former has questions about his/her medication or health.

Allied Health Career As A Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy Technicians are important staffs that work collectively with licensed pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians perform a variety of serious tasks in different work setting such as nursing homes, hospitals and retail pharmacies, but primarily they play a major role in assisting licensed pharmacists by providing medication and other recommended products to patients. Being as an essential element of a team, pharmacy technician also help pharmacists in filling the day-to-day instructions for drugs or evaluating orders for dosing, drug allergies, and incompatibilities. In addition to this, they even assist pharmacist by wrapping, cataloging and delivering medications to patients along with maintaining an automated list of medications.

Apart from this, under the direction of a pharmacist, their role also includes verifying prescription information and filling in the insurance information and patient profiles. At times, pharmacy Technicians may even be accountable for providing answers to various questions regarding non-drug products and transfer ring drug-delivery devices, and other important pharmacy products from the pharmacy to clinics or hospitals. However, note that the responsibilities of the pharmacy tech may differ from state to state depending upon local laws.

Today if we talk in context of career outlook then it actually seems to get brighter in the next few years. In fact, as per the recent studies conducted by the leading experts belonging to healthcare industry, number of Pharmacy technician opportunities is expected to increase by about 32 percent, and this development is actually much faster than the average for other occupations. Moreover, in the last few years, the role of pharmacy technician has become refined. In the hospital service, there are numerous rankings for qualified pharmacy technicians. Senior technicians can get specialized in different areas such as quality control, medicines management, staff training, supplies procurement, information technology, clinical trials or medicines information services.

So, by now if you are looking forward to becoming a pharmacy technician, here is a simple yet effective outlines that can help you a lot:

Find a top pharmacy tech program. Nowadays you can study in a classroom or online, so make a proper selection.
Evaluate the list of pharmacy technician schools and make selection of the best pharmacy technician school for you.
Appear for the pharmacy technician certification exam. The exams take place in virtually every state. All you require is to sign up and take the pharmacy technician test.

Besides this, make sure you keep your certification current. Remember that after becoming a certified pharmacy tech, you need to complete minimum 20 hours of continuing education every two years.

Moreover, you need to remember that even though many pharmacy technicians get their on-the-job training, but these days many employers prefer those who carry experience, earned professional certification or have completed their formal training. In fact, employers often seek formally educated pharmacy technicians. As a result, today many proprietary schools, vocational or technical healthcare schools of the United States and Canada are offering formal education programs. These training programs primarily include internships, in which students get practical exposure in actual pharmacies.

Overall, the job prosect is very high and the pay scale is also quite decent. This job also offers the best lifelong security in comparison to other jobs. Certainly this profession has tremendous scope for professional development.

Allied Health Career As A Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy Technicians are important staffs that work collectively with licensed pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians perform a variety of serious tasks in different work setting such as nursing homes, hospitals and retail pharmacies, but primarily they play a major role in assisting licensed pharmacists by providing medication and other recommended products to patients. Being as an essential element of a team, pharmacy technician also help pharmacists in filling the day-to-day instructions for drugs or evaluating orders for dosing, drug allergies, and incompatibilities. In addition to this, they even assist pharmacist by wrapping, cataloging and delivering medications to patients along with maintaining an automated list of medications.

Apart from this, under the direction of a pharmacist, their role also includes verifying prescription information and filling in the insurance information and patient profiles. At times, pharmacy Technicians may even be accountable for providing answers to various questions regarding non-drug products and transfer ring drug-delivery devices, and other important pharmacy products from the pharmacy to clinics or hospitals. However, note that the responsibilities of the pharmacy tech may differ from state to state depending upon local laws.

Today if we talk in context of career outlook then it actually seems to get brighter in the next few years. In fact, as per the recent studies conducted by the leading experts belonging to healthcare industry, number of Pharmacy technician opportunities is expected to increase by about 32 percent, and this development is actually much faster than the average for other occupations. Moreover, in the last few years, the role of pharmacy technician has become refined. In the hospital service, there are numerous rankings for qualified pharmacy technicians. Senior technicians can get specialized in different areas such as quality control, medicines management, staff training, supplies procurement, information technology, clinical trials or medicines information services.

So, by now if you are looking forward to becoming a pharmacy technician, here is a simple yet effective outlines that can help you a lot:

Find a top pharmacy tech program. Nowadays you can study in a classroom or online, so make a proper selection.
Evaluate the list of pharmacy technician schools and make selection of the best pharmacy technician school for you.
Appear for the pharmacy technician certification exam. The exams take place in virtually every state. All you require is to sign up and take the pharmacy technician test.

Besides this, make sure you keep your certification current. Remember that after becoming a certified pharmacy tech, you need to complete minimum 20 hours of continuing education every two years.

Moreover, you need to remember that even though many pharmacy technicians get their on-the-job training, but these days many employers prefer those who carry experience, earned professional certification or have completed their formal training. In fact, employers often seek formally educated pharmacy technicians. As a result, today many proprietary schools, vocational or technical healthcare schools of the United States and Canada are offering formal education programs. These training programs primarily include internships, in which students get practical exposure in actual pharmacies.

Overall, the job prosect is very high and the pay scale is also quite decent. This job also offers the best lifelong security in comparison to other jobs. Certainly this profession has tremendous scope for professional development.